​Do you have a sewer gas smell in you home? While there are a number of different possible causes for this the important thing is to have this checked out. Why is it important? Apart from the noxious odor, sewer gas leaks could be a potential health hazard for the home’s occupants. While the odor itself might be bad enough to deal with, there are other, more dangerous, risks such as fire or explosion, hydrogen sulfide poisoning which can be extremely hazardous and because sewer gases can displace the oxygen in the home, there is also risk of asphyxiation.

What are some of the causes of sewer gas leaking into the home? This can be caused from failures in the plumbing system which allow sewer gases to come back into the house. If plumbing fixtures start to dry out, traps also become dry which means that the water barrier that would prevent the gas from coming back into the home is no longer there. This could occur during dry weather or if toilets, sinks and showers etc. are not used very often.

Another reason sewer gas can leak into the home is when cracks start to form in vent pipes or in the plumbing drain. Although vent pipe cracks can be rather hard to identify, they can cause quite a lot of sewer gas to enter the house. Cracks in the house’s foundation can also cause sewer gas to leak into the home. If plumbing vents have been positioned too close to air intakes, you might find sewer gas entering the house, then there is also air and wind flow around the building which could also allow gas to enter.

While there are many possible causes of sewer gas leaking into your home, its important to have a plumber find out the cause so that you and your household remain safe.